Indian Culture and Jainism

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Jain Vidya Samsthan

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from the inception of its literary history which is traced back to the 4th5th century A.D. By the end of the 10th century, they had made it a well established literary language's." Professor R. Narsimhachari observes, "The earliest cultivators of the language were Jainas. The oldest works of any extent and value that have come down to us are all from the pen of the Jainas106.
Jaina authors in Kannada are far numerous than in Tamil. To name only a few, we have, Pampa, Ponna, Ranna, Gunavarma Nāgacandra, Nayasena, Nāgavarma, Aggala, Nemicandra, Janna and Madhura, authors whose works are admired as excellent specimens of poetic composition. "Besides Kāvyas written by Jaina authors we have numerous works by them dealing with subjects such as grammar, medicine, veterinary science, cookery and so forth. Altogether the number of Jaina authors in Kannada is nearly two hundred 107."
In addition to the Prāksta, Apabhramśa, Kannada and Tamil literature Jainas started writing in Saṁskṛta also as early as 1st cent. A.D. The Tattvārthasūtra of Umāsvāti is the compendium of Jainism in Saṁskṛta. Pūjyapāda (5th cent A.D.) Akalanka (8th cent. A.D.) Vidyānandi (9th cent A.D.) Siddhasenagani (8th cent A.D.) wrote commentaries on it. Works on Jaina logic have been written from 2nd cent to 15th Cent. A.D. Some of the great logicians are Siddhasena, Samantabhadra, Akalanka, Vidyānandi, Haribhadra, Mānikyanandi, Hemacandra, Prabhācandra, Vādidevasūri, Mallisena, Vimaladāsa and Yaśovijaya. Samskrta literature has also been enriched by Jaina Purānas, Mahākāvyas, devotional literature, grammar, Campukāvyas and large number of ethico-spiritual works. Besides, Jaina scholars wrote treatises on politics, mathematics, lexicon. poetics, medicine, astronomy, geography and astrology. Jainas recognized the genius of Kālidāsa, so much so that the Jaina writer Mallinātha wrote commentaries on the works of Kālidāsa and thus paid homage to this great luminary of Saṁsksta literature09.
In conclusion we may say that in the field of socio-spiritual values, logico-metaphysical pronouncements, diverse Indian languages and meanigful artistic, scientific and secular consciousness, Jainism has enormously contributed to Indian Culture.
Indian Culture and Jainism